Wednesday, August 31, 2022

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Jimmy Koufidakis, Northwest Nazarene
F • 6-0 • Sophomore • Mesa, Ariz.
Koufidakis scored the opening goal in both matches for the Nighthawks this week. He tallied his first goal of the season while facing Cal Poly Humboldt on Thursday in the eighth minute and got his second of the year on Saturday against Cal State East Bay in the ninth minute on the way to a 2-1 win.

Also Nominated: Ryan Rotter (WWU), Alex Grignon (WOU)

DEFENSIVE
Lars Helleren, Seattle Pacific
GK • 6-2 • Senior • Edmonds, Wash.
Helleren kept a clean sheet through both of the Falcons matches this week, earning shutouts against Chico State and Sonoma State. Between his two starts, he faced 24 shots and stopped all six that were on goal.

Also Nominated: Lorenzo Valentini (NNU), Justyn Sandhu (SFU), Mitchell Hutter (WWU), Enrique Gomez (WOU)

AROUND THE GNAC
MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings is the only team yet to start its regular season. They will get things rolling on Thursday at home when they face CSU Pueblo.

• The Yellowjackets were picked to finish sixth in the GNAC in the 2022 Preseason Coaches Poll following their sixth-place finish last season.

• Montana State Billings is set to field a drastically looking team this year, with only two starters from 2021 returning and a new interim head coach at the helm in Aaron Champenoy.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene opened their season with a California road trip to take on a pair of CCAA programs. On Thursday, the Nighthawks dueled to a 2-2 at Cal Poly Humboldt before taking a 2-1 win over Cal State East Bay on Saturday.

• The Nighthawks are first in the GNAC in goals and 39th in Division II after netting four in their first two matches.

• Sophomore Jimmy Koufidakis earned GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors and is pacing the team with two goals on six shots.

• Goalkeeper Sawyer Price is second in the GNAC with seven saves in two matches for the Nighthawks.

• Northwest Nazarene will stay on the road for its first match of the week on Thursday when they play UC Colorado Springs at the Rimrock Classic in Billings, Montana. The Nighthawks then continue the tournament with a match on Saturday against CSU Pueblo to close out their weekend.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s started its season with a 6-0 loss to No. 1 Cal State LA  in Burnaby, B.C. on Thursday evening and closed out their weekend with a 0-0 draw against Hawaii Pacific on Sunday.

• Goalkeeper Hunter Askland made six saves and faced 28 shots in the two matches. He ranks third in the GNAC in saves.

• Sophomore forward Ethan Jud leads the way for the Saints with five shots in the first two matches of the year and put three of those on goal.

• Saint Martin’s continues its season with the first road trip for the young season as they head down south to take on Chico State on Thursday and face another

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific may not have found the back of the net in the first two matches of its season, but the Falcons still have yet to drop a match as the defense and goaltending ensured that their opponents couldn’t score either. Seattle Pacific recorded 0-0 draws against Chico State on Thursday and against Sonoma State on Saturday.

• Goalkeeper Lars Helleren did his part to keep the opposition off the scoresheet as he faced 24 shots and made six saves between both matches and earned GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors in the process.  

• Junior forward Judah Johnston leads the way offensively for the Falcons with five shots which ties him for second in the GNAC with Saint Martin’s Ethan Jud.

• The Falcons will continue the season and hope to spark the offense when they take to the pitch next against West Texas A&M on Saturday at home.

SIMON FRASER
• The preseason favorite to win the GNAC championship, Simon Fraser dropped their season opener against No 1. Cal State LA 1-0 . The match remained knotted at 0-0 until the 71st minute when the Golden Eagles finally broke through.

• Goalkeeper Justyn Sandhu made eight saves in net for SFU to lead the GNAC in saves. He ranks 38th in Division II.

• Mark Talisuna and Alan Soto both led the charge against the Golden Eagles with two shots apiece, accounting for four of the team’s seven in the match with three of those on goal.

• Simon Fraser will travel this weekend with a match at Sonoma State on Thursday followed by another match against CCAA competition at Chico State.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon opened the first season in program history in perfect fashion with a 1-0 shutout win over Hawaii Pacific courtesy of a late Alex Grignon goal.

• Wolves goalkeeper Juan Suarez is one of four keepers in the GNAC to record a shutout in the young season and one of only three with a 1.000 save percentage after the first week of play.

• Western Oregon was named GNAC Team of the Week following their first regular-season win for the program.

• he Wolves will take to the road this week as they face Westminster (Utah) on Thursday and then make the trip to Salt Lake City and tale on Colorado Mesa in a neutral site match.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington started the season with a 0-0  draw against Sonoma State on Thursday as goalkeeper Patrick Restum was only forced to make one save in net for the shutout. The Vikings then took their first win of the season on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Chico State.

• Ryan Rotter tallied the first goal of the Vikings 2022 season just before halftime in the 45th minute of the game and was assisted by Dakota Stamnes.

• Restum has faced 21 shots between both of last week’s matches and has only been forced to make three saves in net to maintain his 1.000 save percentage.

• Defender Theo Steinmetz leads the Vikings in shots with four to start the year.

• Western Washington will continue the season at home when they face West Texas A&M on Thursday at home in Bellingham.